Deliverance
by Cath-Sara-Magic
Summary: Catherine stumbles on a case that may finally help her understand Sara, but can she protect Sara from her worst nightmare? CathSara Pairing, eventually.
1. Chapter 1

I own no one or nothing, and it won't do any good to sue, because I only have pennies in my pocket.

Warning: This is a Catherine/Sara romance story...if you don't like it, don't read it, no one's twisting your arm. I don't need to hear about how gross you think it is or how much you don't like it, so this is just fair warning.

Please let me know what you think, I'm new to fanfic writing, and I'm still treading water, so to speak.

Jenna

Deliverance:

Catherine's angry words could be heard as she exited the house, making her way to where her brunette counterpart stood, her elbows resting on the hood of her SUV, supporting her head.

"What the hell is going on? Have you lost every last shred of professionalism?"

Catherine paused, taking calming breaths as Sara pushed away from the Denali, unsteadily walking towards the trunk, where she pulled out a duffel bag. She wasn't sure why she was so angry, it really wasn't that big deal that Sara had fled the crime scene, pale and sick, and it wasn't as if any evidence had been compromised. Hell, if it had been any of the guys, she probably would have been worried. But it wasn't one of the guys, it was Sara, and she had always held Sara to higher standards.

Sara pulled a bottle of water from the bag, taking a swig and rinsing out her mouth before taking a smaller sip and holding the cool water to her forehead. She was fighting hard to control her tears, the sting of Catherine's words not helping much. She turned her back to the blonde, leaning against her vehicle as she tried to block out the images she had just witnessed. It was too late, though, they'd be embedded in her mind forever, right alongside every other heart-wrenching bloodbath she had been a part of. With shaking hands, she took another small sip of water, hoping to soothe her reeling stomach.

"Will you be able to pull yourself togther enough to work the case, or do I need to get someone else in here?" Catherine's words came out a lot harsher than she had intended, and she felt a stab of pain in her heart as the other woman's posture crumbled slightly.

"That depends. If I say I can work the case, will you let me?" Sara asked with a shaky voice.

Catherine rolled her eyes, "If you say you can work it, and you can refrain from puking once we get inside, then I really don't care if you work our John Doe or not."

"What if I tell you that I can identify him. Would you still let me work it?" Sara asked, her voice strained, "Or will you send me back to the lab to wallow in self pity?"

Catherine's eyes narrowed, "Depends. Can you ID him?" She watched as Sara bit her lip, then asked in an exasperated tone, "What the hell is going on Sara? Tell me, now."

"His name is Jude. Jude Sidle." Sara said, choking back a sob as she resumed her position on the Denali hood, her head cradled in her elbows. "He's my older brother." her muffled voice added to Catherine's silence. "Forget it, I'll just call Greg and switch nights off with him."

Catherine found herself unable to speak as Sara unsteadily walked around to the driver's side door, throwing it open and collapsing on the seat, tears starting to flow as she reached for her cell phone. Deciding that anything words she'd find to speak to the brunette would probably make her feel worse, Catherine walked back towards the house, pulling her own cell out.

"Grissom, it's Catherine. We've got a problem with the burglary/murder case."

----

Catherine stood outside of Sara's apartment, knocking for the sixth time. All of her questions over the younger CSI's past had been answered over the course of the last 7 hours, leaving Catherine with the overwhelming desire to try and patch up the shaky relationship she had with Sara.

Jude Sidle had not been a saint in his lifetime, yet Catherine was unable to not feel sorry for him. He had been born to a addict parents, Laura Sidle favoring alcohol, while Matthew Sidle favored alcohol, weed, and, in the years leading up to his death, acid. Medical records for Jude Sidle included many trips to the emergency room for broken bones, both minor and major, several treatments for concussions, and right after his 15th birthday, admission for a punctured lung, caused by a broken rib and a severe beating. Child Services had been called only after this offense. A preliminary evaluation was done on the Sidle family, but after interviewing the children and neighbors, they had decided to let the children remain in the home until further evaluations had been conducted.

They never had the chance to do a follow-up. Two weeks later, after a particularly aggressive fight, Laura Sidle had murdered her husband in front of both children. She had claimed insanity, while Jude finally revealed details of their abusive family situation. The report showed that Sara had refused to speak to the officers or social workers, and once she finally did open up to a counselor, she disputed every statement Jude made, maintaining that her family had been perfectly functional and average, despite her medical records showing a long history of physical and sexual abuse. Laura utilized the insanity plea and the children were placed in foster care. Jude had been transferred from home to home, many times being reassigned due to fighting or stealing from his foster parents. At the age of 16, the system lost track of him and his records were incomplete for two years, until his first arrest at the age of 18 for domestic assault. Charges were dropped, and he relocated from California to Laughlin, NV. For the next 10 years, larceny and public disorderly charges tainted his record. Since age 28, however, there had been no record of criminal activity. A bit of digging showed that he had been admitted to a drug rehab program and spent several years there, before deciding to go to college. He had currently been a senior in Business Administration, just a few months away from graduating with honors.

His recent transformation was impressive, and Catherine was led to question why he had been shot trying to rob a Laughlin home that morning. More digging revealed that Laura Sidle's most recent appeal had been settled as 'time served' which meant that she was now roaming the streets. Phone records showed that she had made contact with him several times. Catherine had assumed she was threatening him in some way, since as a teenager he had told the police she had abused him, as well as Sara, just as frequently as their father had. The only way to even begin to validate that was to go to the other Sidle child and try to get some information out of her.

Catherine had felt sick reading Jude's report, picturing what had happened to he and Sara as children, realizing why Sara behaved and reacted the way she did during some cases. She had been tempted to research Sara as well, but had refrained, unsure if her heart could take any more sadness today.

She knocked on the door again, kicking it as silence penetrated the building. A few seconds later, the door opened to reveal a pale, worn Sara with glazed, red-rimmed eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I have some questions about Jude." Catherine replied, "And your mother."

Sara's face paled further, and before Catherine had time to react, the brunette's eyes fluttered and she stumbled forward, unconscious.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two:

Catherine lunged forward, catching Sara as she tumbled to the floor in a faint. Pulling Sara away from the door, while kicking it behind her, she took a deep breath to steady her shaking body. She was at a loss for what to do, she was rarely around people who were passing out.

She gently placed the younger woman on the floor, stroking her hair gently, "Sara? Sara?"

Not getting a response, she darted into the kitchen, digging through drawers until she found her dishrags. She wet one in the sink, carrying it to the couch and placing it on the arm of Sara's well-worn couch. Going back to Sara, she grunted as she lifted the woman in her arms and rushed her to the couch, placing the rag on her forehead. This wasn't how she expected this meeting to go. She had anticipated many reactions from Sara, ranging from anger that she was prying to tears as she was cornered. This, however, was something Catherine hadn't even considered.

The phone began to ring, and Catherine hesitated as she contemplated picking up Sara's home line. She decided against it, however, as Sara's answering machine picked up. Catherine hadn't even been aware that Sara had a machine. That just went to show how close the two of them were.

'_You've reached Sara Sidle. I am unable to come to the phone right now, but please leave your name and number and I will call you back.'_

Catherine listened for the beep, then heard a familiar sounding voice come over the line. As she spoke, Catherine realized she sounded a lot like Sara. With wide eyes, she concluded that this must be Sara's mother speaking.

"Sara Joan Sidle, I know you are there, pick up the phone this instant! You can not avoid me forever, put down the bottle, stagger over to the phone, and give me the respect I deserve!"

There was a small pause before she continued, "You fucking bitch, making things so hard on me all of the time. I'm on my way over, you better have my stuff for me when I get there, or else."

Catherine turned her eyes away from the phone, her attention going back to her younger colleague. She was surprised to see Sara's eyes open, her hands trembling, her face pale with obvious fear. Drawing in a shaky breath, Sara struggled to sit, "I'm going to be sick."

Before the words registered in Catherine's brain, Sara had bolted into the bathroom, the sounds of her retching filling the apartment. With a heavy sigh, mixed with a feeling of dread, Catherine went to dig for a glass in the kitchen. She may not know what to do in this situation, the least she could offer the brunette was a cold glass of water.

Sara stumbled from the bathroom a few moments later, taking the glass of water with a small, unreadable smile, her features still mixing fear and sadness, along with apprehension as she finally seemed to realize Catherine was in her apartment.

"I'm sorry." Sara said with a blush, sinking onto the sofa and running her fingers through her hair, "It's just been one of those nights."

"I understand," Catherine replied, "I know you're going through a really difficult time..." She really hated to bombard Sara with questions right now, but the investigator in her was refusing to sit back and let any more time pass in this case. "But I really do need to ask you a few questions about your brother and your parents."

Sara nodded with a heavy sigh, "I was expecting it. What do you need to know?"

Catherine nervously tapped her foot on the ground, "I'm supposed to bring you down for questioning, but I think it would be okay to just stay here. I know it's hard to talk about--"

"Can we just do it and get it over with?" Sara interrupted, "I understand and really appreciate that you're trying to make things easier on me, but prolonging this is only going to make it worse."

Catherine nodded, pulling out her notepad and recorder, "Let's start with Jude. When was the last time you had contact with your brother?"

"Right around the time I moved to Las Vegas, so around 6 years ago. He, uh, needed to borrow some money, so he called me for a loan. I refused, and he never made contact again." Sara said quietly, "As adults we weren't very close."

"When was the last time you had contact with your mother, Laura?" Catherine asked, watching Sara's reaction slowly.

The younger woman's already pale face paled further, and Catherine was worried she was going to pass out again. After a few moments of silence, Sara softly responded, "L..last n..night."

"How would you describe your relationship with your mother?" It took all of the willpower Catherine possessed not to cringe when she asked, knowing that she was treading into dangerous water.

Sara closed her eyes, taking a deep breath, "Erm, non-existent? She calls for money and stuff, but I never give it to her. I, uh, don't want to participate in anything she has to offer."

"Has she mentioned your brother any of the times you've talked to her?"

Sara shook her head, wiping a few tears that had made her way to the surface. "She hated Jude, she felt like he was a traitor because he didn't take her side during the murder trial. I had no idea they were even talking, she always swore that...that..."

Sara brought a shaking hand to her face, trying to stop the tears from flowing in front of her colleague, "She swore that she would kill him the moment she got her hands on him. She...she hated him. She hated him almost as much as she hated our father. Th...they looked alike back then, nearly identical now."

"Has Laura threatened you in any way?"

"Recently?" Sara asked with a dry laugh, "Threats are her way of communicating. On average, only one out of every thirty or so are worth worrying over. She's very, uh, high strung? She reacts on her emotions, not on reality, so you just have to take everything she says with a grain of salt. I mean, she threatened to kill my father more times than I can remember, but she only did it once."

"Once is all it takes." Catherine replied softly, "Do you believe it is possible that your mother manipulated your brother and the circumstances surrounding his death to hide her involvement?"

Sara shuddered, making eye contact with Catherine for the first time since Catherine started questioning her, "As a CSI? I would have to see the evidence. As her daughter? Absolutely."

Both women jumped when they heard a knock on the front door. Sara's eyes widened and she grabbed Catherine's hand, whispering urgently, "You've got to hide, she'll go ballistic if she knows someone is here."

"Just don't answer the door." Catherine hissed back, seeing terror in the brunette's eyes for the first time since they had met. She could feel Sara's body shaking against her own, and she had to resist the urge to hold and soothe the younger woman. "It's going to be okay, Sara, I've got your back."

Sara shook her head, whispering softly, "You don't know her like I do. She's going to know I'm here. Get down on the floor and sit against the counter. She won't be able to see us through the window if we're there."

"Sara! Open up this instant! I know you're there, your car is parked outside. Stop being such a brat and open the fucking door this instant!"

Sara began to violently shake beside Catherine, and Catherine was tempted to pull out her gun and meet Laura at the door. The pounding on the door turned into kicking, and moments later the sound of the lock cracking open caused Sara to whimper in dread as Catherine put her hand on her weapon.

Taking a deep breath, Sara motioned for Catherine to remain as she stood and made her way to the door, try to appear strong. "That was uncalled for. I should have you arrested for breaking and entering."

"I told you I was on my way over." Laura stated, ignoring Sara's previous statement, "Why the hell didn't you answer the phone? Too drunk to find it?"

"I am not a drunk." Sara replied evenly, her voice sounding a lot more confident than she felt, "I have not been drinking... Jude is dead."

"I already knew that."

"How?" Sara asked, grabbing Laura by the arm, "What did you do?"

Laura jerked away from Sara, "Don't you dare touch me, you little heathen! I know everything, Sara. The sooner you realize that, the better off you will be."

"I'm not scared of you." Sara replied, her eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Tell me how you know."

Laura brought her hand to Sara's cheek, brushing it and causing Sara to shudder, "Oh, my darling Sara, of course you're scared. If you weren't scared, you would have called the police by now to have me evicted. You're so scared you don't know what to do. You're so scared you don't know whether to cry, scream, or throw up. I terrify you...that's good. That's the way it should be. You still remember, after all of these years, how to play the game. You were always the good child. That's why you're still here and Jude's not."

"Are you saying that you were responsible for Jude's death?" Sara questioned, her eyes narrow with anger, "What did you do?"

The sound of Laura's hand connecting with Sara's cheek filled the apartment, and Laura hissed, "Don't you dare question me. I'm going to be the one asking the questions. Do you have no respect for your mother?"

"Never lay a hand on me again." Sara said icily, pushing her mother against the wall, a hand on her weapon, "I'm not a child anymore, you can not push me around."

Laura laughed, obviously unafraid of Sara's veiled threat, "Do you have what I asked for?"

"I already told you it would be impossible to get that for you in such a short amount of time." Sara replied evenly, motioning for the door, "You've wasted a trip down here."

Laura's eyes narrowed, her temper flaring, "I thought I told you that you were to have that money for me, no excuses. Nothing is impossible, you little bitch, you just have to want it badly enough. Do you know what happens to people who refuse to help me? What happened to that little girl who used to stand behind me, no matter what?"

"She grew up." Sara replied, her voice shaking with a mixture of fear and anger, "I'm not going to play games with you. You need to leave."

Laura let her hand brush against Sara's cheek, causing the younger woman to wince, "Sara, darling, don't forget what happened to your dear brother when he dared to go against my plans. I would hate for you to be involved in an unfortunate accident."

With that said, Laura strolled for the door, slamming it behind her as Sara backed up against the wall, shaking uncontrollably. Catherine appeared from the kitchen, a frown on her face, "I'm going to need to bring your mother in for questioning. We need to document this threat with some uniforms. Could you make a statement about the conversation you just had with your mother? Do you think she had something to do with Jude's death, or is she just using that to try to get her way?"

Sara remained silent, trying to keep her breathing steady as the last few minutes flashed through her mind repeatedly. Her chest began to tighten and she could feel her breathing shallow, leaving her dizzy and disoriented. Pressing her hands against her face, she began to sob, forgetting the other woman's presence, despite her rapid line of questions.

Catherine knelt beside Sara, one hand on the younger woman's shoulder, "Are you okay?" After a few seconds, it became obvious Sara wasn't going to answer her, and her rapidly paling complexion indicated that she was not okay, much as Catherine had assumed. "Breathe, Sara, breathe. Shh, it's okay, she's gone now. Try to calm down, okay? You're going to pass out if you don't start breathing, and I am really uncomfortable with that."

That last part seemed to help a bit, because Sara gasped for breath a few times, only to start painfully sobbing moments later.

Brushing Sara's hair back from her face, Catherine said gently, "Okay, here's what we're going to do...you can take a few minutes to compose yourself while I call Greg and have him work on getting your Mom in for questioning. I'll get Brass over here to take a statement from you about your Mom and Jude, as well as threats made against you by her. I'll see if Greg had enough evidence to link your Mom enough to hold her, at least overnight, and after all of that, we can start from the beginning and decide what we're going to do about this."

Sara's sobs lessened a bit as she nodded, whispering, "We?"

"Look, we may not be best friends, but I'm not going to sit back and let you go through this alone. If you want to get Nicky or Greg, hell, even Grissom, in here, that's fine, but you need someone. You can't do everything alone, Sara, you aren't superwoman."

Sara wiped her eyes, looking up at Catherine through tear-filled eyes, surprised to see compassion and understanding in them, "Uh, I don't want Nick, Greg, or Grissom. They...they wouldn't understand. Thank you."

"No problem," Catherine replied, patting Sara's shoulder gently, "Go splash some water on your face while I make a few phone calls."

Sara slowly rose to her feet, sniffling and fighting tears as she made her way to the bathroom, confused as to why Catherine was suddenly being so nice to her.

In the living room, Catherine watched as Sara disappeared, resisting the urge to hold her until all of the pain disappeared. She hated to see anyone hurting, but for some reason it was bothering her more than she would have anticipated to watch Sara suffer. With a heavy sigh, she dialed Greg's cell phone number, trying to figure out a way to let Greg know what was going on to where he wouldn't want to run to Sara's rescue. Even though she offered to get one of the guys to come over, she was relieved Sara had declined her offer. The air was changing between the two of them, and the change was definitely noticeable.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three:

Sara sat in the hallway outside of interrogation room #3, waiting for Brass to set up a tape recorder to take her statement, staring intently at the floor. She looked up as Catherine stepped in front of her, "It's different when you're on the other side of the table."

"I know it's different, but you aren't the one in trouble..." Catherine said soothingly, sitting beside her, "It's hard, but you've got to do it. If not just for yourself, for your brother."

The glass door opened and Brass walked into the hallway, "You ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be." Sara said softly, releasing the grip Catherine had on her hand as she took a step towards Brass, "Let's get this over with."

Sara sat across from Brass, her left hand in her lap, her right laying flat on the table, her index finger tapping anxiously against the cold metal. He pressed 'record' on the tape recorder, and gave Sara a sympathetic look. "State your name, age, and address please."

Sara cleared her throat, her voice slightly hoarse from emotion, "Sara Joan Sidle, 33, 114 Hawthorne Lane, Apartment 3-B."

"Why don't we start with a chat about your mother, Laura Sidle. It is to my understanding that she was released from the California State Women's Correctional Facility approximately three months ago. A restraining order is still in effect against your mother, Laura Sidle, protecting yourself and your older brother, Jude Sidle, age 36. Is it true that Laura violated this court order?"

Sara began tapping her foot nervously as she responded, "When she was brought into custody, child protective services evoked a restraining order for Jude and I, due to some threats Laura made against us." She cleared her throat, "She contacted me the day she was released, three months and 8 days ago. From conversations I've had with Laura, I'm led to believe she was contacting Jude as well."

"Why exactly was your mother sentenced to prison?"

"Uh, my parents never really got along. They were high school sweethearts and decided when they were 16 they'd get married and be together forever. They hadn't really grown up when they did get married, straight out of high school, and by the time my brother, Jude, was born, 3 years later, their relationship was very rocky. They blamed their problems on Jude, and the financial and emotional hardship that he put on them. I was born 3 years later, and just contributed to the problem. The bed and breakfast they owned when under because of my mother's addiction to drugs, mostly acid, and my father started drinking. Within just a few years, they owed nearly 100 thousand in credit card bills, the house was being foreclosed, and they had sold the majority of our possessions to support their habits. The fighting increased, both of them were both verbally and physically abusive towards each other. Jude and I tended to blend into the background, it was Jude's idea that if we didn't attract attention to ourselves, and were always 'good', they would leave us out of their fights."

Sara paused, taking a shaky breath, "I was picked to represent our school at a county science fair, my teacher called to talk to my Mom, the school would have paid most of the tab, but some of the travel expenses were up to my parents to foot. My Mom was on a bad trip, my Dad was drunk, I was a normal bratty kid and I didn't keep my mouth shut. My Dad went to shut my mouth for me, and out of nowhere my Mom came at him with a knife. She was admitted into a psych hospital for detox and evaluation, and was then sentenced to life in prison. She appealed the conviction, the arresting officer obtained a statement without a 'Miranda' warning. At the scene, she confessed to the crime, and the detectives didn't gather much evidence. Without her confession, nothing they had was concrete to prove her guilt. They jury determined 'time served' was a good enough punishment and she was let free."

Brass nodded, patting Sara's hand gently, "When Laura contacted you, what did she talk to you about?"

Sara ran her hand through her hair, trying to stop her body from trembling and the tears from her eyes, "There were a lot of thinly veiled threats, she wanted money to get back on her feet. I gave her a check for a thousand dollars, hoping she'd just go away. She kept coming back for more, but I told her I couldn't help her. She told me..."

Sara paused, stifling a sob, "She told me she'd do to me what she did to my father if I didn't help her. I gave her another 200. The time after that she told me she'd go to the lab stating I had an inappropriate relationship with my supervisor, Grissom." She exhaled, shaking her head, "Which is totally untrue. I don't even know how she knew where I worked. I didn't want any trouble to start, so I gave her more money to shut her up. She wanted more, but I just didn't have any more to give her. She's been harassing me ever since, but I was too scared to do anything about it. I really didn't think she'd hurt me, until I found out Jude died."

"Do you have any evidence indicating your mother had a part in Jude's death?"

Sara shook her head, "Nothing that couldn't be labeled as 'hearsay'. She indicated to me that she killed him. She told me that I should cooperate with her, because Jude didn't, and she didn't want a similar accident to happen to me. It isn't the first time she's threatened my life, but it's the first time she's done it where I've had a witness. Catherine Willows was in my apartment and heard the entire conversation. She convinced me to file a complaint with PD, although I don't see what good it does...I already have a restraining order that she doesn't follow, but it's always good to leave you guys with a hint of where to start looking if I end up murdered."

"As you are aware, violating a restraining order will result in time spent in lockup for Laura. Enough violations and it will be more than just a few days."

He clicked off the tape recorder and walked around the table to give Sara a reassuring hug, "You did the right thing by filing a complaint. I know you're hands off on the case, but between the two of us, it isn't looking too good for your mother. It may be a good idea to stay with someone until this case is wrapped up, just to be safe."

"Is that an offer, Detective Brass?" Sara joked, flashing him a tense smile.

Brass gave a light shrug, "If you particularly want to stay with an old man like me. I was thinking more along the lines of Nick or Greg, even Catherine, if you're in the mood for children."

"I'll consider if. Thanks Jim, for everything." Sara said softly, squeezing his hand and moving towards the door.

The moment she stepped in the hall, she could sense Laura's presence. The sounds of footsteps echoing down the hall, mixed with the all too familiar perfume sent Sara's nerve endings tingling, her mind trying to get her body to run as far away as possible.

Instead of running, she remained rooted to her spot, watching with sick fascination as Greg and a cop she didn't recognize led Laura down the hallway, fury evident on the woman's face as she caught Sara's eye. Beside Sara, Catherine stood and placed a hand on the brunette's arm for silent support, recognizing Laura Sidle immediately by her resemblance of her daughter.

"You bitch!" Laura yelled as they got closer, pulling away from the officer and lunging toward her daughter, "You ungrateful bitch, I know you're behind this! I'll get you for this, I'll get you!"

Sara took a step back, clutching to Catherine as the officer roughly grabbed Laura, "Not a good idea, Mrs. Sidle."

Sara stood with her back against the wall as the threesome walked by, her heart racing as Laura growled at her. As they walked into an interrogation room across the hall, Sara sank onto the bench she and Catherine had previously been sitting on, dropping her head in her hands with a moan.

Brass put a hand on the brunette's shoulder, "Now I must insist that you stay with someone else until we're able to hold Laura."

"It's okay, hon, you can stay with me." Catherine said, sitting next to Sara and rubbing her back in gentle circles, "Everything's going to be okay."

"For me, maybe," Sara said softly, "But it's too late for Jude."


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry it took so long to get this posted, I had a 4-wheeler accident and broke my wrist, making it hard to type. I hope to get the hang of typing with a cast soon, and I already have the next chapter planned out. Please let me know what you think.

Jenna

Four:

An hour later, they were pulling into Catherine's driveway, Sara's face pale and tired. "Thank you so much, Catherine."

"It's not a problem, it's the least I can do to help you out. If you need anything at all, just let me know." Catherine replied, glancing at her younger colleague, "You did a good job today, not a lot of people could have stood up for themselves and made a report. I'm proud of you."

Sara stared out the window, her voice soft, "I just hope it will make a difference."

"You've got to have faith in the system, even if it's not always 100 percent fool-proof." Catherine reminded her gently, "I've got an extra bedroom, no one ever uses it. When my Mom keeps Lindsey, she usually sleeps on the couch. The bedroom's a bit cluttered, we've got a computer, bed, and storage in there. If you find it too cramped, I could probably move some stuff around to give you more room."

Sara shook her head, following Catherine through her house, "Clutter doesn't bother me...you've seen my apartment, there's not much room in there, either. You've got a beautiful home."

"One of the very few perks of my marriage. For awhile, we were making decent money, and this is one of the few things I have to show for it." Catherine replied, opening the door to the spare bedroom, which was nearly the size of Sara's living room. "Here you go."

"This is perfect, Catherine." Sara replied, setting her overnight bag down on the bed, "When is Lindsey going to be home?"

Catherine checked her watch, "About another three hours. Why don't you try to get some sleep? I'm going to try to get some rest as well, but let me know if you need anything."

"Thank you." Sara replied softly, sitting down on the bed and smiling shyly, "For everything, thank you."

"That's what friends do." Catherine replied, walking out of the room and leaving Sara to wonder if they were, indeed, friends now.

Catherine walked into her own bedroom, changing into her pajamas and collapsing on the bed. She had been awake for the majority of the last 24 hours and although she was used to working long, unconventional hours, the emotional journey she had taken with Sara today had completely wiped out her energy reserves.

She was still trying to grasp her mind around everything she had learned over the last few hours. Sara Sidle had always been a complete mystery to the entire team, and now Catherine was starting to understand why. If she would have gone through what Sara had, she wouldn't have spread her family's dirty laundry to her coworkers either.

If someone had asked her last week if she would ever invite Sara to stay with her, she would have immediately told them no, but after learning so much about her colleague, she felt comforted knowing she was able to do even the tiniest act to comfort the brunette when she needed help.

She had just drifted to sleep when she heard terrified screams coming from the guest bedroom. Jumping to her feet, alarmed, she rushed into the hallway, not bothering to knock as she burst into Sara's room, expecting the worst. Instead of finding Sara's mother hovering over the bed, she found the younger woman tangled in the blankets, thrashing in her sleep with loud whimpers.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Catherine gently shook Sara by the shoulder, "Sara, wake up, you're having a bad dream."

The whimpers and cries stopped, and the brunette stopped moving, her breathing evening out as her nightmare was interrupted. Catherine waited for a few moments, hoping that Sara's nightmare wouldn't resurface, and once she was certain that Sara was okay, she tiredly made her way back to bed, her heart breaking for her younger coworker.

Several hours later she was drawn out of sleep once again by shrill screams, this time coming from a much younger source. Catherine scrambled out of bed, running towards the sound of her terrified daughter. She found Lindsey in the back yard, her eyes wide and her face pale, her voice now hoarse as she continued to shriek loudly, tears running down her young face as she reached out to cling to her mother.

Catherine pulled Lindsey close to her chest, her maternal instinct causing her to shield Lindsey's eyes with her hand. Sara joined them in the yard, stopping as she realized what she was looking at and obviously fighting the urge to be ill.

Pinned against a tree in the backyard with what seemed to be a large stick, was Lindsey's latest birthday present, a 5 month old golden lab, his cold eyes staring towards them in a haunting fashion. Written on the nearby patio table were the words "I warned you". The world began to spin around Sara as the implications of this act sank in, and she fought not to black out as the fear and anxiety began to build in her chest.

Lindsey buried her head in Catherine's shoulder, sobbing hysterically, "Mom, why would someone kill Jasmine? Who could do this?"

"I don't know baby, but it's going to be okay. Let's go inside, you don't need to be out here." Catherine soothed her daughter, looking up with concern towards Sara, surprised to see the spot where the brunette had been standing vacant. "Sara, from work, is here and we'll find something to make you feel better."

Catherine led Lindsey inside, gently pushing her into one of the kitchen table chairs and brushing a strand of hair from her face, "I'll do my best to try and find out who did this for you, Lindsey."

"You catch bad guys all the time, you'll catch this bad guy too." Lindsey said confidently through her tears, accepting the ice cream bar Catherine had held out as a peace offering. "If Sara helps you find clues, you guys can find them twice as fast. Can you go to jail for killing a puppy?"

Catherine kissed the top of Lindsey's head, a soft smile on her face, "Let me see if we can find out who did this, and we'll go from there." She gave a sigh of relief when Lindsey retreated to the living room with barely a sniffle, comforted by the fact that 'Mom was on the case'. She wasn't positive, but she had a pretty good idea who could have killed their dog, and if her suspicions were right, they were going to be in for a long ride.

Catherine made sure Lindsey would be alright before heading down the hallway to the spare bedroom, now inhabited by Sara, and knocked softly on the door, "Sara?"

"I'm sorry I brought you into this." Sara said as she opened the bedroom door, duffel bag on her shoulder, "Laura Sidle is insane, and I had no right to bring you or your daughter into this mess. I'll be okay at my apartment, I can't bring anyone else into this mess."

Catherine put her hands around Sara's arms, pushing her gently back into the room, "We don't even know for sure that she did this. It could be someone's sick idea of a joke. I don't regret bringing you here, and I wouldn't feel safe with you alone at your apartment. You don't need to be alone, and if necessary, I'll have Brass send some units by every hour or so to make sure everything's okay. If it is Laura, she's just trying to get you riled up. Don't let her."

"What about Lindsey? What if she hurts Lindsey? She killed her husband and son, your daughter is a stranger to her." Sara replied, trying to make Catherine understand why staying with the blonde and her daughter was unacceptable, "I appreciate all you've done, but I couldn't live with myself if I inadvertently hurt your daughter."

Catherine took the bag from Sara's shoulder, placing it on the bed, "We can protect Lindsey. I've got a state of the art alarm system. We can get police protection. I saw the way she kicked in your apartment door, you aren't safe there. Please, stay." Catherine paused, tears welling in her eyes as she thought of what Laura was capable of doing to this young woman.

The room was silent for a few moments before Catherine whispered, "I want you to stay. I need you to stay."


	5. Chapter 5

Five:

"You want me to stay?" Sara asked uncertainly, confused by Catherine's actions. She had been certain that as soon as anything dangerous came remotely close to Catherine's home or daughter, she would have been kicked to the curb without a second thought.

On the other hand, she wouldn't have ever expected Catherine would have invited her to stay in the first place or be as gentle and caring as she had been over the last 24 hours. This wasn't how their relationship worked, and it was all very confusing to her.

Catherine, seeing Sara's hesitation, covered Sara's hand with her own, "Please, don't leave. If something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do."

"I feel the same way." Sara replied softly, her voice thick with emotion. She wasn't sure what she was exactly feeling as Catherine stepped closer to her, but whatever it was, it wasn't allowing her to say no like her head knew she should. "If you want me to stay, I'll stay."

Catherine pulled her in for a hug, and Sara felt like she was going to melt in the older woman's embrace. It had been a very, very long time since someone had cared this much about her. Reluctantly pulling away, Sara drew a deep breath, trying to clear her head and focus on the situation.

"We need to call Brass and tell him about Lindsey's dog. If we can prove it is Laura, we can use that to build up her case, it was a clear threat, we can extend the restraining order to both you and Lindsey, just as a precaution." Sara said softly, "There's no doubt in my mind that it was Laura. I hate that she's dragging you two into this. She's do anything to get to me."

Catherine glanced down at her watch, nodding, "I agree. I'll call the station and see who's on. I'll also tell Lindsey to be very careful playing outside and remind her not to talk to strangers and such. It's the normal speech, but sometimes a reminder doesn't hurt."

"She must be so upset about her dog." Sara said sadly, "Let me buy her a new one."

Catherine smiled at Sara's sincerity, following the brunette out of the room, "She's pretty upset about Jasmine, that's her puppy's name, but she's confident the two of us will 'catch the killer'. She's always bounced back rather quickly. You don't have to buy her another, though, we got the puppy from my sister, and I'm sure her dog will have puppies again."

They walked into the living room and Lindsey jumped up, running to the two women, "Are you going to look for clues to find out who hurt Jasmine?"

"Of course we are." Sara replied before Catherine could open her mouth, "Your Mom and I are on the case."

Lindsey wrapped her arms around Sara, surprising both adults, and squeezed her tightly, "I know you can do it. You and Mom always put away the bad guys."

Sara and Catherine shared a smile, and Lindsey flopped onto the couch, covering with a throw blanket and motioning for the two adults to be silent, "My show's back on."

"What are you watching, Lindsey?" Sara asked, taking a seat on the other end of the couch, "Scooby Doo? I love Scooby Doo."

Catherine took a seat, looking at Sara with a teasing smile, "I'm sure you were always trying to figure out who did it before the gang did. I can just picture you, 7 years old, taking notes and following the evidence."

"Of course. I used to idealize Velma. I even had a sweater and skirt to match hers." Sara admitted with a light blush, "Who didn't love Scooby Doo?"

Catherine shook her head, "I was never a big Scooby Doo fan. I always liked Mickey Mouse and Disney cartoons. You never really had to think about them. Besides, my sister was always scared of the villians on Scooby Doo, and it wasn't worth listening to her ask a million times whether ghosts really existed."

Lindsey laughed, her attention diverted from her cartoon, "Aunt Nancy was scared of Scooby Doo? That's so silly, it's just a cartoon."

"Well, we all know how silly your Aunt Nancy is." Catherine joked, "We all know who got the brains in the family."

"Yeah, me." Lindsey retorted, laughing as Catherine threw a pillow at her, "Mom, is Sara staying for dinner?"

Catherine nodded, "She'll be staying with us for a few days. Why don't the two of you start co-conspiring about what's for dinner while I go finish up the laundry. I wouldn't have to go to work naked."

"I'm sure the boys would love that." Sara replied with a grin, "May even get you a raise."

Catherine shook her head, "Not worth it. The lab couldn't pay me that kind of money."

Sara laughed as Catherine walked out of the room, turning her attention towards Lindsey and the TV, "What's happened so far?"

Lindsey, still focused on the TV, answered, "They went into the haunted house, interviewed the caretaker, and there's a phantom stealing family heirlooms. I think it's the caretaker, but Shaggy and Scooby think it's the ghost of the man who owned the house."

"Nah, the caretaker is too obvious. Have they mentioned anyone else?" Sara asked, watching as everyone's favorite cartoon dog managed to, once again, veer from the gang's plan.

The two were interrupted by Sara's cell phone's shrill ring. Flipping it open, she answered, "Sidle."

"Sara." She knew by the way that Nick said her name that something was seriously wrong. She waited with baited breath for him to continue. "Sara, are you sitting down?"

"What happened?" Sara asked, dread filling her body as she waited to hear words she had hoped she'd never hear.

Nick's voice cracked with emotion as he spoke, "There was an accident. Grissom and I were called in early to work a B&E, day shift is backed up with a homicide. The suspect came back...Grissom was shot."

"No." Sara gasped, fear constricting her chest, "Where are you?"

Nick's voice was strained as he spoke, "We're at Desert Palm, he's in pretty bad shape, the doctors aren't sure if he'll make it through the night. 3rd floor waiting room." He paused before asking, "Are you okay?"

"Catherine and I will be right there." Sara replied, her hands shaking as she tried to close her phone. She slid the phone back into her belt, her heart racing as she tried in vain to calm her nerves. She stood, but immediately fell back onto the couch as her shaking legs couldn't support her.

"What's wrong?" Lindsey asked, worried by Sara's reaction. She scooted closer to the brunette, "Sara?"

Sara opened her mouth to speak, but instead was overcome by tears. She covered her face, not wanting to allow the child to see her crying, not wanting to worry her, but was unable to control herself. Grissom was one of her best friends, although they may not always get along. He had been her mentor, he was the reason she was sitting in Catherine's living room instead of a cramped apartment in San Francisco. And now, he may die.

Lindsey had rushed away to find Catherine, worried by Sara's small breakdown, and a few moments later, Catherine followed her daughter back into the living room, sitting beside Sara and pulling her into an embrace, "What's wrong, Sara?"

Sara sobbed for a few moments before she was able to compose herself enough to answer Catherine's question, "Cath, there was an incident at a scene. Grissom's been hurt. He's at Desert Palm, Nick says he may not make it."

Catherine's face paled, and she drew in a shaky breath, trying to keep her composure and remain strong. He may not make it, but then again, he may pull through just fine. At times like this, the best thing to do was remain optimistic. She fought tears and squeezed Sara's hand, "Let me call my sister and see if she can watch Lindsey, and we'll head down to the hospital."

"Aunt Nancy is out of town, she went with Jeremy on a field trip. I can go with you. I like Uncle Gil, I want to see him." Lindsey pleaded, "Let me go with you."

"Linds, I don't think that's a good idea. Uncle Gil won't be able to have visitors, and we'll probably be there a long time. You'll be bored." Catherine said gently, squeezing Lindsey's hand, "I'll see if I can get your Grandma to come over."

Catherine picked up the cordless phone, dialing her mother's number. After 4 rings, the answering machine picked up and Catherine hung up with a sigh, "Go put your shoes on, hurry up."

Lindsey ran to her room, leaving Sara and Catherine sitting on the couch in silence, both in shock over what had happened. In a soft voice, almost too frightened to be Sara's, the brunette whispered, "Do you think it was her?"

"Laura?" Catherine asked with teary eyes, "I don't know, but I'd definitely put her on the suspect list."

"He can't die." Sara murmured, her hands starting to tremble once more, "I don't know what I'll do if he does."

"Me too." Catherine replied, wiping away the tears that fell onto her cheeks, "We're going to catch whoever did this. If it's Laura, I'll personally make sure she pays."

They arrived at the hospital in record time, and it didn't take long to find the waiting area that CSI had inhabited. Nick was standing by the window, obviously distraught by the night's events. Even from across the room, it was clear that he was fighting tears. Warrick sat in the coroner, his eyes bright and bloodshot with unshed tears. His clothes were rumpled, as if he had been awakened by the phone call and hadn't bothered to get dressed before heading out. Greg was standing by the coffee pot, absentmindedly stirring the sludge in his Styrofoam cup. Sara walked over to Nick, leaving Catherine to sit beside Warrick, wrapping an arm around him and giving him a reassuring squeeze. Lindsey sat beside them, sorrow evident on her young face as she watched the adults fight an inner battle with their emotions.

"This is never supposed to happen to him." Warrick whispered, "He's supposed to be indestructible."

"He's only human." Catherine replied, "All humans are fallible. We can all be hurt, we can all be taken."

Warrick shook his head sadly, motioning towards Nick, "He's really torn up."

"It's hard to watch someone suffer and not be able to help them." Catherine replied, her voice stopped, "Grissom was a mentor to all of us, he made us who we are. We owe it to him to keep it together until he's well."

"If he has a chance to recover." Warrick said dryly, shaking his head, "This is unreal."

Across the room, Nick had just said the exact same thing, "This is unreal. One minute we were processing the scene, the next thing I know he's falling to the ground and taking me down with him. I hardly had time to decipher what was going on. She came in, aimed straight for him, and then disappeared. I couldn't do anything, he wouldn't stop bleeding, he didn't even regain consciousness."

"It's not your fault. Accidents happen to CSIs, it's a risk we are all willing to take. Grissom's strong, he's a fighter, he'll make it through this. Try to think positive, Gris wouldn't give up without a fight." Sara said softly, squeezing Nick's hand, "You did the best you could, that's all any of us could have asked for."

All occupants of the waiting room froze as the doctor walked in, his scrubs covered in blood, "Gil Grissom?"

"How is he?" Nick asked, walking quickly towards the doctor.

The doctor sighed, surveying the occupants of the room, "There is extensive damage to his spinal cord. We are working on removing the bullet, but there's a lot of swelling, which is making it hard to maneuver. We won't know the extent of the damage until the swelling goes down. There's a long road ahead of him, but if he makes it through surgery and through the night without any additional complications, he should make it. I'll keep you updated on his surgery."

The doctor walked away, and Sara turned away from Nick, wiping tears away from her cheeks. Nick sighed heavily, "It was so strange. Before I heard the shot, I heard her tell us that we should consider this a warning. I've never seen her before in my entire life, yet she looked so familiar. I just can't figure out what kind of warning shooting someone is? I can't make sense of it. Gris didn't seem to recognize her, so why would she shoot him and not me? It just doesn't make sense."

Sara's face had rapidly paled as Nick recounted the events of the shooting. There was no doubt about it, it was Laura. This shooting was her fault, Grissom may die because of her. Could things get any worse?


End file.
